Back to school: Shop early to save big

OTTAWA — For some, the end of summer means backyard barbecues and getting in a last trip to the beach before the weather turns cool. For parents and students, however, August means back-to-school shopping.

New clothes, backpacks, pencils and books can take a healthy bite out of your bank account, but Christine Hicks, couponing blogger at couponchristine.com and Kerry Taylor, personal finance blogger at squawkfox.com and author of 397 Ways to Save Money, say there are deals to be had for those who shop early.

Browse flyers for loss leaders. “Don’t wait until Sept. 1 to begin your back to school shopping,” says Hicks. Some of the best deals can be found in mid- to late -August. Shop the flyers for loss leaders, items sold at or below market costs to drive customers into the store. Back-to-school packaged items can also yield great savings. “Walmart has a great deal for backpacks that come with a matching lunch box and pencil case,” says Hicks. Come October, these package items will be sold separately for two or three times the price.

Shop with a list. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the back to school deals. How do you know what your child will really need?

“Most schools provide a list of the supplies students will need for the year,” says Taylor. Compare your list to the back-to-school flyers. “You’re able to scan the flyers a lot more quickly to find what you need if you have a list,” says Hicks. If you don’t get flyers delivered to your doorstep, look for them online. Save.ca and Flyercity.ca show flyers for all major stores in Ottawa and offers a search function, allowing time-pressed consumers to type in an item (such as “backpack” or “Crayola”) and pull up all the flyers offering that product for easy comparison.

Take stock before you shop. “If your kids have been through a couple of years of school already, chances are you already have scissors, a few binders, pens, and a pencil case in good enough shape that your kids can take them to school,” says Taylor. Shopping at home first not only cuts back on your back-to-school spending, but it teaches children to reuse what they have and take better care of the stuff they already own. Give a used backpack a fresh look by sewing on a funky patch or some shiny buttons instead of buying new.

Take your flyers shopping. Flyers provide great ammunition to price matchers. Many stores offer price matching, but Hicks warns, this tactic can only be used if the products are the same. “You can’t say Giant Tiger is offering a six-pack of crayons for 50 cents, but I want this eight-pack at Walmart for the same price,” she says. Circle all of the items you want from various store flyers and go to one store to see if they’ll price match or beat the price of those items. “The best part about price matching is you’re not driving around the city and wasting gas,” says Hicks.

Sign up for email lists. Clothing and shoe stores often offer discounts and coupons to preferred customers who register for their email lists. Buy one, get one 50-per-cent off offers are great deals for parents with two or more school-aged children. Shopping online can also yield great savings. Taylor recommends looking for promotional codes simply by Googling the name of the store followed by promo code. “And you don’t have to bring your screaming kids into the store, which is a huge win,” she says.

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